New Guinea bush frog

Asterophrys turpicola

SUBFAMILY

Asterophryinae

TAXONOMY

Ceratophrys turpicola Schlegel, 1837, Lobo district, Triton Bay, Dutch New Guinea (Irian Jaya, Indonesia).

OTHER COMMON NAMES

None known.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

This species is the antithesis of the narrow-mouthed frog; its head (and, consequently, its gape) is as broad as its wide body. The eyelids bear fleshy spines, and the limbs and sides of the body are warty. It is one of the larger microhylids, reaching a body length of 2.5 in (65 mm). Its coloration is drab, with brown and black shades dominating.

DISTRIBUTION

This frog lives at low to moderate elevations in New Guinea, from the western end in Irian Jaya (Indonesia) to eastern Papua New Guinea.

HABITAT

This is a species of the forest floor, where it calls from sites below the surface. In at least one region in Papua New Guinea it has adapted to disturbed environments and is found in sub-urban gardens.

BEHAVIOR

The New Guinea bush frog is noteworthy for its unusual defensive behavior. When annoyed, it may inflate the body and

hold the mouth open, exposing the bright blue tongue. If annoyance persists, the frog may leap at and bite its disturber, holding on for minutes. Curiously, closely similar behavior is found in unrelated but morphologically similar species of the genera Hemiphractus (Hylidae) and Ceratophrys (Leptodactylidae) in tropical America.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

This species has a wide-ranging diet that includes lizards, insects, and frogs.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Undoubtedly, the species has direct embryonic development, but no details of the reproductive habits are known.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.